MAGGIE Robin says Hercules the Bear will always be her honey \u2013 as she still smells his fur every day.<\/p>\n
The animal-lover and her late husband Andy made the news<\/a> when they bought their beloved grizzly for just \u00a350 in 1976.<\/p>\n Hercules the bear and his owners became local celebritiesCredit: Alamy<\/p>\n Maggie Robin speaks about raising the cub in a new BBC documentaryCredit: BBC<\/p>\n It was love at first sight for the couple as they became local celebrities<\/a> \u2013 taking \u2018Herc\u2019 to the pub in his special trailer and for runs near their home in Dunblane.<\/p>\n Andy, a wrestler and larger than-life-personality, even taught his 9ft ursine son how to grapple.<\/p>\n The couple considered the 30st gentle giant part of the family \u2013 and he still is, 25 years after his death<\/a>.<\/p>\n Maggie, 74, said: \u201cI keep a wee box of Herc\u2019s fur and I was just smelling that today. The smell has kind of disappeared now but I\u2019ll always keep it.<\/p>\n \u201cI will always think about him on a daily basis. He was so special and so magical that you couldn\u2019t not.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s the same with Andy. I still kiss his picture every day as well. I could never have anything like Andy and Hercules in my life again.<\/p>\n \u201cThe three of us were a family\u2009.\u2009.\u2009.\u2009 we were complete. I was Herc\u2019s mum. It was just meant to be.\u201d<\/p>\n Hercules was born at the Highland Wildlife<\/a> Park in Kingussie in 1975 and Andy decided to purchase the cub after he wrestled a bear abroad for a cash prize.<\/p>\n Although they initially feared they would never get their grizzly under control, Andy, Maggie and the little bear quickly became inseparable.<\/p>\n He lived inside their home and enjoyed cooked meals rather than raw meat \u2013 with Marks & Spencer food a particular favourite.<\/p>\n The bear became a showbiz<\/a> sensation, landing a starring role in the 1983 James Bond<\/a> flick Octopussy with Roger Moore<\/a>, and later relocating to California for a brief period to star in a range of telly shows.<\/p>\n Hercules also had a role in a Disney production and became the mascot for the Hofmeister beer\u2019s 1980s \u201cFollow the Bear\u201d campaign.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, he was invited to the Gleneagles golf course by comedian<\/a> Bob Hope, where he worked as Bob\u2019s caddie for the day.<\/p>\n Hercules became so famous that Time magazine put him on their front cover on March 26, 2001.<\/p>\n Hercules the bear starred on the front cover of Time Magazine in 2001<\/p>\n And he\u2019s now the star of another show \u2013 with a BBC documentary<\/a> about his life being aired tonight.<\/p>\n For many of Hercules\u2019 fans, the most memorable and iconic moments came when he popped in to the Sheriffmuir Inn for a drink<\/a>.<\/p>\n Before he came along, Maggie and Andy used to run the 17th Century pub, near Stirling. Maggie, who now has Jack Russell called Robbie, admits people found Hercules fascinating. <\/p>\n She said: \u201cWe were so privileged and so lucky to have a big fellow like him in our life.<\/p>\n \u201cUnique things like that don\u2019t just happen every five minutes.<\/p>\n \u201cI think people liked the fact that we weren\u2019t bear trainers. We just winged it and we all learned from each other and had a ball.<\/p>\n \u201cWe never thought Hercules would ever grow into this kind of folk hero. That all took on a life of its own and it won\u2019t happen again.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was our fairy tale and our magic that was sprinkled on everyone else.\u201d<\/p>\n Maggie, who lost Andy aged 84 in 2019, doesn\u2019t think there will be another bear like her Hercules. He famously went missing while filming a TV advert for Kleenex in North Uist in August 1980 \u2013\u200a and was lost in the wild for 24 days.<\/p>\n Maggie and Andy were devastated by his disappearance and joined hundreds of volunteers in a large-scale search for the bear.<\/p>\n They had almost given up hope of finding him when he was eventually discovered, half-starved and 14st lighter after refusing to eat sheep, cattle or other wildlife.<\/p>\n Andy and Maggie nursed their furry baby back to health and he thrived until he started having back issues that brought his showbiz career to an end in 1997.<\/p>\n Hercules sadly died in 2000 and a life-size statue of the bear was unveiled on North Uist in 2013 \u2013 where both he and dad Andy were laid to rest.<\/p>\n Maggie, who now runs a boutique clothing store in Auchterarder called Bear Necessities, reckons she was the first and last person to ever have a pet bear in Scotland<\/a>.<\/p>\n But it would never have been that way if she had listened to Andy.<\/p>\n She said: \u201cAbout a year after Herc died, Andy said he wanted to get another cub. I said there was no way we could ever have another Hercules as he was so unique.<\/p>\n \u201cBut I didn\u2019t want to be in my 70s, having to rush home because I\u2019ve got to go and feed my grizzly bear. And what if we took ill health?<\/p>\n \u201cThere was only one Herc and I don\u2019t think anyone else will ever have a bear like him again.\u201d<\/p>\n